Self-serving apparatus for eating establishments



C- R. BALL.

SELF SERVING APPARATUS FOR EATINGESTABLISHMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15.1919.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

c. R; BALL. SELF SERVING APPARATUS FO R EATING ESTABLISHMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED MI}. 15. I9I9.

Patqnted Mar. 23, 1920:

' "2 sazns smasr 2.

rrn sTATE PATENT onincn.

SELF-SERVING APPARATUS FOR EATING ESTABLTSHMEN'TS.

Application filed January 15, 1919.

' a self serving apparatus of simpleand durable construction capable. of being readily installed in a lunch room or other eating establishlnent without necessitating any material structural alterations therein and by means of which a customer entering the lunch room. may make his selection from the bill of fare, order his meal and have it mechanically served, thus dispensing with the employment of waiters and consequently re ducing the cost of maintaining and operating such establishments,

The invention further aims to provide a self serving apparatus including, an endless propelling belt or cable mounted for travel above the serving table or counter and on which the trays containing the individual meals are transferred from the kitchen. to the respective custou'iers, means being provided for preventing lateral displacement of said trays during transit and other means being provlded for arresting the longltudi F nal movement of said trays in case of failure to remove them from the propelling belt.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a novel form of receiving basket or trough in which the order slips are auto matically deposited by the action of the pro polling belt, there being abarrier or abutment arranged immediately beneath said basket to arrest the return movement of the trays while at thesame time permitting free passage of the order slips.

Another object is to provide a supporting frame for the propelling belt formed of a plurality of detachably uni-ted sections so that by adding or removing certain sections the device may be lengthened or shortened to conform to the conditions under which it is installed.

A. further object is to provide the uper and lower faces of the propelling belt with Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23. 1920.

Serial No. 271,232.

frictionbuttons which contact with the meal trays and serve to propel the latter.

A still further object isgenerally to improve this =class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability and efficiency.

In the accompanyingdrawings:

Figural is a perspective View, partly in section, of a self serving apparatus embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the rear or kitchen end ojf the pro-' pelling belt;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view;

Fig. t is a detail perspective-view of one of the frame sections and its associated parts detached; p

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the tray stops;

Fig. 6 represents side and top plan views respectively, of a portion of the propelling belt;

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of a portion of one of the propelling belt;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a portion of the upper track showing the manner of suspending the table marking tag therefrom;

Fig. 9 a perspective view of a portion of a tray with a number tag in position thereon. I

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views ofthe accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

The improved selt serving apparatus em bodying the present invention is shown by way of illustration installed in a lunch room otthe ordinary construction, in which 5 designates the serving room and 6 the kitchen, there being an opening 7 in the dividing partition 7 and forming a source of communication between the serving room and kitchen.

Arranged. Within the serving room 5 is a counter 8, or,

if desired, a plurality of tables may be employed in lieuthereof and arranged side by side to form a continuous serving surface. The table or counter 8 is preferably divided by transverse lines to form a plurality oi? individual spaces for the different customers, the spaces being nnm-.

bored alternately and each space having arranged opposlte thereto a stool or seat 9.

z ment of the stretches of the belt.

porting frame formed of a plurality of in dividual side sections 16 detachably secured by bolts or similar fastening devices 17 to upper and lower tracks 18' and 19 so that by varying the length of the tracks and adding or removing certain of the sections 16, the

device he lengthened or shortened at will' to conform to the dimensions of the lunch room or other eating establishment within which it is installed. Disposed at the junction of adjacent side sections and secured to the upper and lower tracks are vertical braces 20 and secured to and extending beneath the L-shaped bars constituting the upper and lower tracks are transverse hangers 21. The intermediate portions of the hangers 21 are bent downwardly,and secured to or resting on saidhangers at the bent portions thereof are longitudinally disposed guide plates 22 which form supports for the upper and lower stretch of the endless propelling belt 10. The central portion of each plate 22 is preferably bentupwardly to form a raised longitudinal rib 23 which constitutes a guide for the adjacent stretch of the belt, the opposite longitudinal edges 24 of the rib serving to prevent lateral displacement of the belt, as shown.

The propelling belt 10 is provided with a plurality of friction buttons 25 preferably formed of rubber andmade in two sections,

one of the sections of each friction button being arranged on the upper surface of the belt and the other section on the lower surface thereof, and said sections being secured in position on the carrier by flexible securing members or cords 26 which extend through perforations in the buttons and also through the material constituting the body of the'belt, as best shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

The buttons 25 are arranged on opposite sides of the guide ribs 23 and by engagement therewith serve to prevent lateral displace- Mounted for travel with the belt are the meal receiving'trays indicatedat 28. The trays 28 are preferably numbered to correspond to the numbered spaces onthe table or counter 8 and the opposite sides of each tray are preferably bent later-ally as indicated at 29 so to bear against the tracks. The tracks thus serve to receive and support the Weight of the trays while thebeltlO serves as a means for-propelling the same.

The buttons 25 being formed of rubber or other yieldable material produce sulhcient friction on the bottom of the trays 28 to propel the latter when the belt is rotated, there being a hand crank 3L arranged on the rear drum 12 for this purpose. The drums 11 and 12 areformed with depressions 32 which receive the buttons 25 and thus cause the drums to grip and rotate the belt when the hand crank 31 is rotated.

Arranged at the forward end of the belt and supported by suitable brackets 33 is a basket 3i adapted to receive the trays in case the customers seated at the counter fail to remove the trays as they pass their places at the table. Interposed between the upper and lower stretches of the belt at the kitchen end thereof is a receiving basket or trough '35, and depending from said trough is a transverse barrier 36-which forms a stop or abutment for the trays on the lower stretch of the bel and thus arrest the movement thereof after they enter the kitchen. The basket or trough 35 is adapted to receive the order slips of the customers, one of said slips being indicated at 37 and said order slips being carried along by the lower stretch of the belt and thence upwardly between the belt and drum 12 and deposited in the trough 35, as best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

It'will here be noted that the lower end of the barrier 36is spaced a sufii'cient distance from the upper surface of the lower stretch of the belt to permit free passage of the order slips 37 wiile at the same time preventing further movement of the trays 28 so that stop age of thetrays at this point will not interfiere with the delivery of the order slips into the receiving trough or basket 35. It will furthermore be noted that the space between adjacent pairs of friction buttons 25 forms in effect a pocket for the order slips 37 so that when a customer fills in an order slip from the bill of fare and deposits said slip on the belt between the buttons 25, said order slip will bedelivered by the belt into the receiving trough 25 and in which position it may be conveniently removed therefrom by the chef or other attendant within the kitchen. The rear ends of the hars'constituting the upper track 18 are preferably provided with inwardly and downwardly extending stop hooks 38 and if desir d similar stop hooks may be arranged at the forward end of said track, in which event the basket 34 may be dispensed with.

As before stated, the meal receiving trays 28'are numbered to correspond with the numbers of the individual places on the I counter or table 8 and the order slips are likewise correspondingly numbered. When a customer enters the lunch room he makes .his selection from the bill of fare, writes it on the order slip and places said order slip on the lower stretch of the endless belt which conveys said order slip into the kitchen and deposits the same within the trough or basket 35. The attendant within the kitchen removes the order slip from the trough 35, fills the order and places the meal so ordered on a tray having a number corresponding to the number on the order slip, after which the attendant r0 tatcs the handle 31 thereby causing the belt to move the tray through the opening 7 in the partition into the serving room. If the I. customer ordering is, for instance, number taining the meal passes by the three the meal receiving tray will be cor respondingly marked and as said tray conspace marked number three on the serving table or counter, the customer at said space removes the tray and after finishing his meal deposits the tray together with the soiled dishes on the lower stretch of the belt and on which they will be returned to the kitchen'upon the next rotation of said belt.

The friction buttons 25 by engagement with the longitudinal plates 22 serve to prevent sagging of tlie belt and thus insure jsuflicient frictionbetween said buttons and the meal receiving'trays to propel the latter when the belt is rotated. I

A suitable tension device 38" is referably arranged at each drum for regulating the If desired instead of numbering the different spaces on the table or counter, suitable tags 39 numbered to correspond to the different spaces at the table or counter may 'be em ployed, one ofsuclntags being illustrated in Fig. 8 of the drawings. In some cases the' endless propelling belt, a

by suitable clips numbers of the different trays may be displayed on cards 41 as illustrated in Fig. 9.

It will be understood that the propelling belt may be operated either manually or from any source of power and in the event power is employed a pulley 42 will be mounted on the driving shaft of one of the drums and connected through the medium of a. belt with a suitable motor.

Vhile the device is shown and described as being installed in a lunch room, it will of course be understood that the apparatus may be used with equally good results in hotels, restaurants or other establishments where meals are served and inasmuch as said meals are served mechanically, the wait crs. usually employed for this purpose are dispensed with and the cost of maintaining and operating such establishments correspondingly reduced.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A self serving apparatus including an receptacle carried by and mounted for travel with the belt, means for rotating the belt, means for arbelt, an order 40 fastened to said trays "lower tracks having resting the movement of the receptacle as it approaches the end of the upper stretch of the belt, an order receiving device arranged between the stretches of said belt and means carried by the order-receiving device for arresting the movement of the receptacle as it approaches the end of the lower stretch of the belt.

2. A self serving apparatus including an endless propellingbelt, friction devices secured to the upper and lower faces of the belt, a receptacle adapted to bear against said friction devices and movable with the receiving device arranged bctween the stretches of the belt, means for rotating said belt, and means for arresting the movement of the receptacle as it approaches one end of said belt.

3. A self serving apparatus including an endless propelling belt, tracks disposed on and movable with the belt, an order rcceiving trough arranged between the stretches of the belt, means for rotating the belt, means for arresting the movement of the tray near the end of the upper stretch of the belt, and other means for arresting the return movement of the tray on the lower stretch of the belt.

5. A self serving apparatus comprising spaced drums provided with peripheral re- ,cesses, an endless propelling belt mounted for rotation on said drums and provided with friction buttons fitting in the recesses in the drums,longitudinal tracks, a tray resting on the friction buttons of the belt and provided with side flanges bearing againstthe tracks, means for rotating the belt, and means arranged near the opposite said tracks,

at the opposite ends ofthe frame, an endless propelling belt trained about said drums and provided with friction buttons bearing against said ribs, a track, and a receptacle propelled by the belt and resting on the track;

7 A self serving apparatus including a supporting frame cor prising upper and side sections detachably secured thereto, transverse hangers connecting the rails of each track, an upper longitudinal plate resting on the transverse hangers of the upper track and provided with an upstanding rib, a lower longitudinal plate secured to the hangers of the lower track and having a similar rib, spaced drums mounted for rotation at the opposite ends of the r .zpporting frame, an endless belt trained about the drums and provided with friction buttons bet ring against the ribs of, the longitudinal 1lates,'and a tray propelled by the belt and adapted to rest on said tracks.

8. A'self serving apparatus including an endless propelling belt, an order receiv' 1g trough arranged between the stretcheg ot' the belt, a receptacle propelled by the elt, and an abutment depending from the order receiving trough for contact with the receptacl 9. A self serving apparatus including an endless propelling belt, atrack arranged above the belt, a receiving basketarranged at one end of the belt in alinement with the track, an order receiving trough disposed between the stretches of the belt at the opp0s1te end thereof, an abutment depending froin the receiving trough, and a receptacle ropelled by the belt and resting on the trac 10. A self serving apparatus including spaced drums, an endless propelling belt trained about said drums and provided with friction buttons, a-track arranged above the belt, longitudinal supporting plates arranged beneath the stretches of the belt. a

receiving basket arranged at one of the drums and in alinement with the track, an

' order receiving trough arranged between the stretches of the belt at the other drum, an abutment depending from the receiving trough and having its lower edge spaced from the adjacent stretch of the belt, and a tray propelled by the belt and resting on the track.

11.. A self serving apparatus including a serving table, an endless propelling belt mounted for rotation above said, table and including spaced drums, at hand crank secured to one of the drums for rotating the belt, upper and lower tracks, longitudinal plates disposed beneath the stretches of the belt and provided with upstanding ribs.

friction buttons secured to the stretches of necting the L-shaped rai friction buttons secured to the opposite faces of the upper and lower stretches of the belt and fitting in the recesses in the drums, longitudinal plates forming supports for the stretches of the belt, a tray propelled by the belt, means disposed near one end of the belt for arresting the longitudinal movement of the tray, an order receiving trough interposed between the stretches of the belt at the opposite end thereof, and an abutment depending from the order receiving 'trough and spaced vertically from the adj acent surface of the belt.

13. A self serving apparatus including a supporting frame formed of a plurality of detachable side sections, upper and lower sets of L-shaped rails secured to said sections and constituting tracks, hangers eonof the tracks, longitudinal plates resting on the hangers, spaced drums, an endless propelling belt trained about said drums and provided with friction buttons bearing against the longitudinal plates, and a tray propelled by the belt and having side flanges adapted to rest on the L-shaped rails of said tracks.

14. A self serving apparatus including spaced drums having peripheral recesses, an endless propelling belt trained around said drums and provided with spaced 'sets of friction buttons fitting in th fa'eccsses in the drums, means for rotating l -drums, a receptacle adapted to rest on said friction buttons, an order receiving trough interposed betwcen the stretches of the belt at one of said drums, the spaces between the sets of buttons on the belt forming a pocket -fo an'order slip and said order slip being fed iipwardly-between the belt and the adjacent drum and deposited in the receiving trough upon rotation of? the belt.

In testimony whereof I atliX my signature.

CLARENCE .n. BALL. t a 

